The first signs of sunlight trickled into Arella's room gingerly, slowly making the space brighter as each minute passed. Arella tossed and turned roughly in her bed before she finally sat up and stretched her arms over her head. She got back to the castle late after her walking adventure and she regretting not sleeping longer. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she made her way into the bathroom to relieve herself and wash her face. Cold water splashed against her skin which made it so it woke her up the rest of the way. She groaned from the shock of the water on her face before reaching for her towel to dry off. She shuffled to her closet to gather her clothes, she grabbed grey trousers, a blue tunic that hung loosely around the waist, her leather scabbard and her short black leather boots. As she was getting dressed a knock startled her half awake brain out of it's early morning haze.
"What is it?" She asked coarsely, her voice still waking up and dusting off as she hurriedly continued putting on her tunic. Heavy footsteps staggered outside the door before a rough voice called out.
"My Lady, the people are ready and waiting out front. Are you ready to join them?" Sir Kaylln asked briskly, Arella must have slept in a little too long for him to be this impatient.
"Give me two minutes." Arella strapped her scabbard to her waist hastily as she slammed her feet into the boots. She jogged over to her vanity and quickly brushed her long dark hair before putting it up in a loose ponytail. After she made sure she looked presentable she thrusted her door open to greet her less than cheerful party.
Sir Kaylln stood off to the left, leaning against the stone wall with Sir Deismon standing across from the door, arms crossed in front of him. Three other knights stood on the right of Arella's door all faces she knew every well, Sir Haymond, Osyric and Roland. Sir Osyric was a shorter man but he made up for his lack of height with his swordsmanship, he was remarkable on the field with grace and efficiency. His pitch black hair was pulled back away from his face which showcased his amber colored eyes. Sir Roland stood beside him a few inches taller and slightly broader. His skin was beautifully caramel colored and his light brown hair swung the left side of his face with a singular wave. He had pale blueish green eyes similar to Arella's but not nearly as vibrant or intricate. Sir Haymond stood closer to Deismon and mirrored the stance of Kaylln, his pale complexion almost glowed in comparison with the stone wall he was leaning against. He had bright orange red hair that curled in every direction thought of and his icy blue eyes cut through the air like daggers.
Arella glanced at all of the knights before nodding her head toward the stairs. They all understood that she was ready and began moving down the hall in the direction of the foyer. She jogged down the stairs and squared herself before gesturing to have the front door open.
Light flooded into the foyer as the sun rose over the walls of the city. She took a deep breath as she stepped out of the castle and into the front courtyard. Flower beds hugged the sides of the castle delicately and a magnificent willow tree stood proudly on the left just beside the walkway that led out from the castle. The long hanging wisps of the tree had begun changing colors, more orange and yellow had mixed with the once vivacious green. The limbs twisted and curved in all directions as if it had been reaching for something.
A massive crowd had gathered a little ways from the entrance to the castle, waiting patiently for Lady Arella to appear. Once they had spotted her every single person bowed or curtsied to greet her. She smiled at her people as she neared, the crowd had grown so much ever since she began doing this morning ritual.
"Is everyone ready?" She bellowed into the crowd, making sure everyone could hear her. The citizens nodded their heads and excitedly echoed yeses. Arella turned to Sir Kaylln and Roland and gave a sharp nod as the two knights took off into a swift jog. Arella followed behind as the rest of the crowd joined in and they began jogging the perimeter of the city starting on the right side of the castle.
Arella had begun this morning tradition roughly four years ago when a few citizens approached her while she doing her morning workout. She happily addressed them and invited them to join her, once word got around that the Lady of Evynne allowed the residents to participate in her morning routine more and more started attending. Now after all that time over half of the entire city attends the morning run.
Ragged breaths, sharp inhales and wheezing resonated throughout the running party as they crested the hill toward the church. The path they took runs everyone along the back side of the church, around the merchant's village and back down the stone walkway toward the castle again. Arella kept the path short in order to not hurt anyone who wasn't accustom to running. She also kept the pace modest and would frequently turn around to make sure no one was falling behind. As they continued down she felt something tugging at her trousers. When she looked down she noticed Koda had run up next to her and was trying to get her attention.
"My lady, look I caught up to you!" He proclaimed breathlessly. She smiled at the young Werebear and reached down to grab his hand. "Indeed you did little cub. Here take my hand to make sure I don't fall behind." She said, pretending to sound out of breath. Koda eagerly took her hand, puffed up his chest and carried on while trying to scowl to appear tougher. Arella chuckled to herself lightly as she slowed her pace a little as to not strain Koda too much.
The running party descended the hill around the church and began running along the outskirts of the area locally referred to as "Merchant's Village", even though more than just merchants lived in this part of the city. It mostly got it's name from when the traveling caravans would come into the city, they always chose to set up their tents and goods in that exact spot. Eventually the locals coined the name merchant's village and it had never been changed since.
Arella's thoughts drifted, the sound of melodic stomping and cyclitic breathing slipped through her mind and seemed to just fade away as she launched into a daydream.
'She stood before the lake dressed in an ethereal white gown. She glanced down at her reflection on the water's surface, her hair framed her face and was decorated with ornate jewelry, her eyes glimmered and flashed with a passion she hadn't recognized. When she looked back up at the moon lit scene there was someone standing on the water with a hand extended to her. She couldn't see the figure's face, but she could tell it was a man standing before her. Curiosity boiled up inside of her as she tried to reach out to the mysterious man, yet when she tried he began vanishing into thin air. Arella retracted her hand and stared, bewildered as the man reappeared. "Don't leave me." The man whispered, his voice unrecognizable and faint. Arella scowled as she raised her eyebrows but before she could say anything the man dissolved into the still water. Not even a ripple broke across the lake as she stood more confused than ever. "What just happened?" Her voice echoed in her head before falling completely silent.'
"She is not breathing!" A panicked voice shrieked through the crowd, snapping Arella out of her daydream. Everyone stopped running and formed a circle around someone up ahead. Arella's eyes sprung wide open as she scanned the faces around her to see if she could spot any of her knights. She landed on Sir Haymond and looked at Koda who was clinging onto her hand with a terrified grip. "Koda listen to me, you are going to go stay by Sir Haymond no matter what alright. You are not to leave his side until I or your parents come to get you, do you understand?" She spoke firmly as she pointed to Haymonds' direction. The little cub did not answer but instead nodded and ran over to the red haired knight.
As soon as Koda walked over to Haymond, Arella bolted forward to get to the center of all of the commotion. She made her way through the petrified townspeople when she came across a female collapsed on the ground, black straight hair covering some of her face and splayed across the ground. Arella rushed over and knelt beside the young woman, placing her head against her chest to see if she could hear or see her moving. The woman was as still as a corpse and a chill ran down Arella's spin. She looked up and saw Kaylln running over to them.
"Get me a healer now!" She ordered, voice stern and unwavering. Kaylln turned on his heels and made his way through the crowd heading toward the church to get the cleric or one of the druids. She turned her attention back to the woman on the ground as she opened her mouth to see if there was anything in her throat that she could see. Just as she was about to start pushing on the girl's chest to try and force her to breathe and voice pierced through the crowd.
"I am a healer! Please I can help!" A man beckoned from behind a sea of scared people. Arella's eyes widened in surprise and tilted her head in the direction she heard the voice come from.
'That voice. Could it be?'